Successful Website
The main task of a web design agency and marketing agency is to help its customers design a unique website able to communicate perfectly, not only what they do, but also why their potential customers should choose them over their competitors.
6 characteristics of a successful website
There are therefore six characteristics of a successful website that every professional and every entrepreneur should take into account to create a website that is truly effective. Let’s begin to understand what are the characteristics of a successful website, by taking a look at three elements that concern the design of websites that are effective for technical or professional firms and micro or small businesses. Elements that can help you get the best results.
Clear goals and a well-defined value proposition.
Before diving into the choice of layouts, images, color combinations and fonts, you need to define very clearly what you want to get from your website. Of course, you have to be a little more specific than “a nice picture” or “more visitors”.
For example, they are good goals: to get a certain number of leads or to effectively convey your value proposition.
What really sets your business apart from your competitors?
A simple layout and a well-defined map
Maybe this will surprise you but, you see, often, when professionals and entrepreneurs get (rightly) enthusiastic about what they do, they would like to talk about everything… and maybe do it already from their own homepage.
The problem is, a complex home page makes the website cluttered and this is a big misstep because it can turn visitors away. Therefore, before thinking about the home page, you need to create a detailed site map avoiding overcomplicating it. Basically, it is about defining how the various pages of the website will connect (or not) to each other.
The point is, designing an effective website must be based on primarily meeting the needs of your prospect. It is always about him that we must think…
Regardless of the type of business you are designing your website for, sticking to these and the next elements will allow you to create a website capable of generating profiled leads.
How would you like a potential customer to browse your website? One who doesn’t know you yet? If you could lead it, where would you want it to go?
Of course, it is also important to have a Menu bar that makes it easy to find out more about your products / services / solutions / achievements, about you and your team and any other relevant information.
More ways to get in touch
Let’s face it, the whole purpose of your website is to generate leads, possibly well profiled, that is, leads from your ideal target customer.
Once you manage to intercept him, strange as it may seem to you, you must also offer him a wide variety of ways to get in touch with you.
The first step is therefore to include all contact information on each page of your website (phone, email, contact form) together with specific calls to action.
You can also evaluate the possibility of inserting the features of a chat (manual or automatic), as it has become an increasingly popular tool in recent years. It will be very useful if you know the latest web design trends too.
Having understood this important aspect, you must now consider your home page as a series of calls to action to bring the greatest number of visitors to your website to specific pages dedicated to products, services or solutions or to “data capture magnets” (subscription to the newsletter, e-books, reports or guides to download for free, etc..). Thanks to the possibility of obtaining even a single e-mail address of a potential client, you can keep in touch with him by communicating with a certain regularity or even insert it within a real marketing funnel.
Visual Design Elements
Now let’s move on to Visual Design elements that are always among the characteristics of a successful website
Continuing our journey through the characteristics of a successful website, we always reiterate that one of the main objectives of your website must be to be able to communicate clearly with your ideal target customer to offer him the most effective solution for him.
You succeed in this intent with adequate contents (texts are a crucial element), suitable to make people understand why to choose you and not your competitor. However, just as important are the visual factors that accompany the lyrics.
In fact, even if you have perfect texts, a visually unattractive or confusing website tends to turn visitors away. So let’s see in detail, three important elements concerning the visual design of websites that are effective for technical or professional studies and micro or small businesses.
Focus on functionality rather than form
While it is certainly good to want to design a “beautiful” website, any design decision should be guided first and foremost by functionality. That is one of the marketing agency benefits.
Therefore, assuming that your potential customers will judge your website even by the cover as you do for a book, your website must appear modern, clean and well structured because these are elements that signal reliability.
However, you don’t have to add design elements just for the sake of it because some things like slide shows (which have become very popular over the last few years), may also seem effective in visual terms, but in reality often create an ineffective browsing experience.
Avoid overcrowding and let the contents breathe
In part I have already talked about it but as much as you can do for your potential customer, you cannot tell them everything on your home page.
The space (preferably white) between the various elements of the layout, if used appropriately, can make the visual experience much more pleasant for your visitors.
Instead of trying to insert everything, always opt for a scrolling home page that leaves space and makes the contents “breathe”.
Effective use of spaces allows you to direct visitors through the journey you want them to take. As they scroll through your home page, you can communicate your value proposition, your solutions, and create calls to action that lead to a higher chance of converting that visitor into an actual contact.
Choose carefully photos, images (and videos…)
We can’t talk about your website’s visual design factors without discussing photos and images.
Free images have a reputation for being shoddy and outdated, and it’s true! That said, there are parts of your website where it is essential to use your own images, such as your photo and that of your team in the “about us”.
Your website should be the first point of contact with your potential customers, so you need to give them a face in addition to your name. This is an extremely important and too often underestimated factor. The visuals on your website however, could also go beyond photos and images because you may be making use of videos.
Including videos on your website is part of those marketing techniques whose effectiveness has been abundantly proven.
Videos are part of the way people want to enjoy online content today. Videos can be used for various purposes. An introductory video on your home page is an opportunity to share your value proposition and start building the perception of trust.
Explanatory videos on products, services, solutions or achievements can make it easier to understand the topics or features that are more difficult to understand.
Creating a visually appealing website is not only one of the characteristics of a successful website but is also an integral part of creating your own “brand” that is reliable and trustworthy from the start.